Turn-of-the-century trivia: Herbert Hoover was admitted to Stanford's first freshman class as a "special" after he failed the entrance exam. Jane Stanford sold strings of pearls to pay faculty salaries when the family fortune got tied up in court. The University used to shut down for one day each spring so everyone could attend the faculty-senior class baseball game, which featured President David Starr Jordan in padded knickers.
These are among the nuggets revealed in a two-part documentary, Becoming Stanford: The Making of an American University. Backed by the President's Fund, produced by the Stanford Channel and first screened in mid-October at Reunion Homecoming, the film was made in the style of Ken Burns's The Civil War -- constructed from diaries and letters, interviews with historians and professors, and rich archival images. It covers University history from the 1852 arrival of Leland Stanford in California to the 1991 Centennial celebration. Says the documentary's director, Anne Flatte, MA '95: "It treats the University as the main character instead of [showcasing] the many famous faces who studied here, as previous films have done."
Price: $39.95; $29.95 for alumni. To order: (650) 723-5100.
